AP Photos: Editor selections from the past week in Asia

The Associated Press

Published
2:13 am EDT, Friday, May 17, 2019

In this Sunday, May 12, 2019, file photo, South Korean violinist Won Hyung Joon and his North Korean soprano partner Kim Song Mi perform at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai. Won, a South Korean, performed together with Kim, a North Korean, in a rare joint performance they hope would help bring the divided Koreas closer together via music. Their performance comes three days after North Korea fired two suspected short-range missiles in the second such weapons test in five days. less

In this Sunday, May 12, 2019, file photo, South Korean violinist Won Hyung Joon and his North Korean soprano partner Kim Song Mi perform at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai. Won, a South Korean, ... more

Photo: Dake Kang, AP

Photo: Dake Kang, AP

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In this Sunday, May 12, 2019, file photo, South Korean violinist Won Hyung Joon and his North Korean soprano partner Kim Song Mi perform at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai. Won, a South Korean, performed together with Kim, a North Korean, in a rare joint performance they hope would help bring the divided Koreas closer together via music. Their performance comes three days after North Korea fired two suspected short-range missiles in the second such weapons test in five days. less

In this Sunday, May 12, 2019, file photo, South Korean violinist Won Hyung Joon and his North Korean soprano partner Kim Song Mi perform at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai. Won, a South Korean, ... more

Photo: Dake Kang, AP

AP Photos: Editor selections from the past week in Asia

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South Korean violinist Won Hyung Joon and North Korean soprano Kim Song Mi held a rare joint performance between artists from the rival countries. The concert in Shanghai was the first both Won and Kim had had with a musician from the other side of the Korean border. They agreed to perform together to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In other images from the Asia-Pacific region this week, Filipinos voted in midterm elections that were seen as a showdown between President Rodrigo Duterte and opponents who want to ensure checks and balances on a leader they see as a looming dictator. Unofficial results show Duterte's allies were leading in races for the Senate, which has been a bulwark of the opposition.

Hong Kong lawmakers scuffled in the Legislative Council chamber while it was working on amendments to the territory's extradition law. The amendments would make it easier to send criminal suspects to mainland China, and opponents see it as undermining Hong Kong's judicial independence.

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This gallery was curated by Associated Press photo editor Toru Takahashi in Tokyo.